Source: EA 'Roll-Offs' Lead to Cuts at EA Canada and EA Black Box; As Many as 100 Affected

[Update: 8:15p.m.] An EA representative has responded to our original story with the same comment it originally gave Joystiq (found in the body of this post), making no reference to the specific nature of our source's claims.

[Original Story] A source tells Shacknews that EA Canada and EA Black Box--both located in Vancouver, Canada--have been affected by EA's recently confirmed "seasonal roll-offs." The source claims that "as many as 100 employees" were let go earlier today.

According to our source, the teams hit by the layoffs include those behind the "indefinitely delayed" NBA Elite 11 and the critically acclaimed but sluggish seller Skate 3, with some employees from the EA Sports Active team "possibly" being hit as well.

Earlier today, chatter on Twitter pointed to job losses at EA. The company's corporate communication spokesperson Jeff Brown told Joystiq, "As you know, seasonal roll-offs that follow game launches are common and vital to maintaining a healthy business. Because so many of our games ship in the holiday quarter, the team size adjustments tend to follow in the same timeframe. However, EA is growing and several of our studios are looking to hire talented people."

According to Joystiq, this is the third year in a row EA has laid off a portion of its workforce during the holiday season.

Shacknews has contacted EA for comment regarding the information we were provided; however, we have yet to hear back at the time of publishing.